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60th Congress, \ HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 
2d Session. ( 1 No. 2215. 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 



February 15, 1909.— Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the stale 
of the Union and ordered to be printed. 



Mr. McCadl, from the Committee on the Library, submitted the 

following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany H. J. Res. 260.] 

The Committee on the Library, to whom was referred the report 
of the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds on the 
proposed remodeling of the Hall of the House of Representatives, 
have considered the same and report the accompanying joint resolu- 
tion and recommend its passage. 

On the 12th of May, 1908, the House passed a resolution directing 
the Superintendent of the Capitol to consult with architects of repute 
and experts upon ventilation and acoustics with a view to a rearrange- 
ment and reconstruction of the Hall of the House of Representatives, 
to place it in direct contact with the outer wall or walls of the building, 
to improve its ventilation and acoustical properties, and to reduce 
its size, and to report with plans to the Speaker on the first Monday 
of December, 1908. 

Under the said resolution the superintendent has reported with 
plans to the Speaker, which report and plans have been referred to 
the Committee on the Library. A copy of said report is hereto 
appended. 

The superintendent presents three schemes, marked "A," "B," 
and "C." The last scheme need not be considered, as its adoption 
was not recommended by the superintendent, but was made to show 
that the subject had been "exhaustedly studied and all possible 
arrangements for the new hall considered." 

Scheme A presents a plan hemicycle in form, alter the style of the 
old Hall of the House of Representatives, now Statuary Hall, and of 
substantially the same size. While this scheme is preferable archi- 
tecturally, the superintendent stated to the committee that for all 
practical purposes scheme B would be as good as scheme A. The 
acoustic properties of a hemicycle can not be accurately determined 
in advance of the const ruction. The acoustic- of the old Hall re- 



2 BALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. aP A? 

f erred to above were not satisfactory, hut this was due very likely 
to certain detail- of its structure rather than to its form. But the 
superintendent i> confident tiiat there would be no difficulty regard- 
ing the acoustical properties of a rectangular hall as presented in 
scheme B. Furthermore, the gallery area of the hemicycle is as great 
as that of the present hall. The committee believe that another ob- 
jection to the hemicycle scheme would be that we should have side by 
side in the Capitol two halls of the same type and practically of the 
same size. 

For these reasons, among others, the committee favor scheme B. 
This plan involves a hall rectangular in shape, like the present Hall 
of the House, but surrounded by pillars and with other details of 
treatment which make it architecturally a very great improvement 
over the present Hall. The following table will give the comparative 
dimensions and other data as between the existing Hall and scheme B : 

Comparative data. 



Greatest length on the lloor 

Greatest brealth on the lloor 

Length at gallery level 

Breadth at gallery level 

Area on the floor sq. ft . 

Area at gallery level do 

Cubic contents, including gallery cu. ft.. 

Number of Members' seats 

Total cloakroom space, not including present lobby on south front sq. ft. . 



The exist- 
ing Hall. 



Scheme B. 



113J 87 

64 

lo9 118 

93 115 

7, (WO - r >, 440 

12,927 9,618 

259, 745 

446 

3,441 [ 7,170 



The above yields the following results for scheme B, as compared with the existing 
Hall: 

Reduction in area on the floor . sq. ft . . 2, 220 

Reduction in area at the gallery level do :'.. 31 1 

Reduction in cubic contents of Hall cu. ft . L26, 625 

Increase in seating 53 

Increase in cloakroom space sq. ft . . 3, 729 

The cost of executing scheme B is estimated at $375,000. 

It will be-seen that scheme B affords a reduction in area on the 
floor level of 2,220 square feet and on the gallery level of 3,211 square 
feet; t hat it reduces the entire cubical contentsof the Hall from 386,370 
feet to 259,745 feet, or almost exactly one-third, and that it increases 
the cloakroom space by 3,729 feet. Greatly as the Hall would be 
reduced, it would still remain one-third Larger than the Senate 
Chamber. 

The seating arrangements under scheme B would admit of the use 
of ample individual chairs, as in the Senate, or chairs joined together 
and continuous between the aisles. 

The committee regard the former as preferable. There would 
also be an extended rack in front of each row of chairs, giving each 
Member a place upon which to write and a desk, or pocket. Large 
enough to hold several volumes. This scheme moves the Hall to 
the south and eliminates the corridor directly back of the Speaker's 
desk. The Hall would then open directly upon the Members' lobby, 
fronting upon the south portico, and the press gallery would be 
directly over the present Members' lobby, and the rear of the 

3 1909 



F 9 lb 

D, oi D. 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 6 

press gallery would be along the south front of the House wing, with 
five windows directly opening into the outer air. From the state- 
ment of the superintendent to the committee, it appears that this 
direct connection of the Hall with the outer air through the press 
gallery and through the openings connecting the Hall with the pres- 
ent Members' lobby, which itself is connected with the outer air, 
would meet all reasonable desire for direct ventilation from the 
outside. 

The superintendent expressed the opinion thai any further direct 
connection with the outer air would be objectionable. The artificial 
.system of ventilation would also continue and would be fully as 
effective as in the present Hall. The Speaker's desk would occupy 
the same relative position as in the present Hall. Upon the north 
side of the Hall, in addition to the public corridor, there would be a 
private lobby running the whole length of the II all and nearly 30 
feet in width, a portion of which could well be used as reception 
rooms where the Members could see visitors, instead of in the public 
corridors as is now done. 

The cloakroom space at the two ends of the Mall would also be 
greatly increased, and some of the additional space might be made 
use of for a reference library. The committee has not attempted to 
prescribe the exact uses to which the great additional cloakroom space 
should be devoted, but that could be determined upon by the House 
itself in some suitable way if it should order the change to be made. 

In the opinion of the committee the great advantage of scheme B 
over the present Hall would be in substituting a hall suited in size 
for a parliamentary body for a hall which, by reason of its enormous 
magnitude, can by no possibility be regarded as a suitable place for 
the deliberations of an assembly transacting business of vital conse- 
quence to a great nation. It is only necessary to recall the dimensions 
of the present Hall. In greatest length it is 139 feet, in breadth 93 
feet, and its cubical contents are 386,370 feet.. The daily experience 
of Members demonstrates to every one of them its unfitness, on 
account of its size, for purposes of deliberation. There is no critic 
of repute who has written about the House of Representatives who 
has not commented upon the inordinate dimensions of the Hall of the 
House and its adverse effect upon debate and deliberation. 

Mr. Bryce, in his American Commonwealth, gives a lively and yet 
a correct description of the debating conditions in the House. 
Speaking of the Hall, he says: 

). It is more than thrice as large as the English House of Commons, with a floor about 
equal in area to that of ^'estniinster Hall, 139 feet long by 93 feet wide and 36 feet 
high. * * * The proportions are so good that it is not till you observe how small 
a man looks at the farther end, and how faint ordinary voices sound, that you realize 
its vast size. * * * 

■\Yhen you enter, your first impression is of noise and turmoil, a noise like that of 
short, sharp waves in a Highland loch fretting under a squall against a rocky shore. The 
raising and dropping of desk lids, the scratching of pens, the clapping of hands to call 
the pages— keen little boys who race along the gangways— the pattering of many feet, 
the hum of talkingon the floor and in the galleries, make up a din over which the Speaker 
with the sharp taps of his hammer, or the orators straining shrill throats, find it hard to 
make themselves audible. I never heard American voices sound so harsh or disagree- 
able as they do here. Nor is it only the noise that gives the impression of disorder. 
Often three or four members are on their feet at once, each shouting to catch the 
Speaker's attention. * * * Less favorable conditions for oratory can not be imag- 
ined, and one is not surprised to be told that debate was more animated and practical 
in' the much smaller room which the House formerly occupied. 



4 HALL OF THK HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Not only is the present room bo hie that only a powerful and well-trained voice can 
(ill it. lmt the desk and chairs make a speaker feel as if he were addressing furniture 
rather than men. while of the Members few seem to listen to the speeches. It is true 
that they sit in the House instead of running out in the lobbies, a- people do in the 
British House of Commons, but they are more occupied in talking or writing or reading 
newspapers than in attending to the debate. To attend is not easy, for only a shrill 
voice can overcome the murmurous roar; and one sometimes finds the newspapers, 
in describing an unusually effective speech, observe that "Mr. Bo-and-So'e speech 
drew li teners about him from all parts of the House." They could not hear him 
where they --at. so they left their places to crowd in the gangways near him. "Speak- 
ing in the House," says an American writer, 'is like trying to address the people in 
the Broadway omnibuses from the curbstone in front of the Astor House * * * . " 

.Men of fine intellect and of good ordinary elocution have exclaimed in despair that 
in the House of Representatives the mere physical effort to he heard uses up all the 
powers, so that intellectual action becomes impossible. The natural refuge is in 
written speeches or in habitual silence, which one dreads more and more to break. 

It is hard to talk calm good sense at the top of your voice, hard to unfold a compli- 
cated measure. A speaker's vocal organs react upon his manner, and his manner on 
the substance of his speech. It is also hard to thunder at an unscrupulous majority 
or a factious minority when they do not sit opposite to you, but all around you anil 
behind you, as is the case in the House. The Americans think this an advantage, 
because it prevents scenes of disorder. They may be right, lmt what order trains 
oratory loses. It is admitted that the desks are a mistake, as encouraging inatten- 
tion by enabling men to write their letters, but though nearly everybody agrees that 
they would be better away nobody supposes that a proposition to remove* them would 
Hucceed. 

So far n the committee are informed the opinion of writers of 
repute upon this subject is all one way. But since it has cited a very 
great British authority, it will now quote from an eminent American 
writer, President Woodrow Wilson. In his hook on Congressional 
government If says: 

There are. to begin with, physical and architectural reasons why businesslike 
debate of public affaire by the House of Representatives is oul of the question. To 
those who visit the galleries of the representative < hamber during a session of the 
House these reasons are as obvious as they are astonishing. 

It would be natural to expect that a body which meets ostensibly for consultation 
and deliberation should hold its sittings in a room small enough to admit of any easy 
interchange of views and a ready concert of action, where its members would be brought 
into close, sympathetic contact: and it is nothing less than astonishing to find it spread 
at large through the vast spaces of such a chamber as the Hall of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, where there are no close ranks of cooperating parties, but each Member 
has a roomy desk and an easy revolving chair; where broad aisles spread and stretch 
themselves; where ample, soft-Carpeted areas lie about the spacious desks of the 
Speaker and clerks; where deep galleries reach back from the outer limits of the wide 
passages which lie beyond "the bar:" an immense, capacious chamber, disposing its 
giant dimensions freely beneath the great level lacunar ceiling through whose glass 
panels the full light of day pours in. The most vivid impression the visitor gets 
in looking over that vast hall is the impression of space. 

A speaker must needs have a voice like O'Connell's, the practical visitor is apt to 
think as he sits in the gallery, to till even the silent spaces of that room; how much 
more to overcome the disorderly noises that buzz and rattle through it when the 
Representatives are assembled a voice clear, sonorous, dominant, like the voice of a 
clarion. One \vh<> speaks there with the voice and lungs of the ordinary mortal 
must content himself with the audience of 1 hose Members in his own immediate 
neighborhood, whose ears he rudely assails in \ ehemenl efforts to command the atten- 
tion of those beyond him. and who. therefore, can not choose but hear him. 

Taking the history of Congress from the beginning, no reason cun 
he found in the relative ability of the membership of the Senate and 
of the House why debate in the former body should better meet the 
ends of discussion. Most oi the greatest Senators have served for a 
time, and some of them for many years, in the [louse of Representa- 
tives. IleniN Clay made some of his greatest speeches in this body. 
The same may he -aid of Webster, and especially with regard to his 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OF BEPEESBNTATIVES. 

speeches on the Greek revolution and the tariff. John Quincy Adams 
had a very brief career in the Senate and a long and active period of 
service in the House at a time when his public influence was aug- 
mented by the fact that he had been President of the United States. 

Many of the notable men in the history of the country have been 
identified with the House of Representatives and have never served 
in the Senate. Among the Presidents may be named Madison, 
Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley, and among the many other eminent 
men who served in the House but never in the Senate may be men- 
tioned Fisher Ames. Henry Winter Davis, Thaddeus Stevens, Ran- 
dolph Tucker, William L. Wilson, and Thomas B. Reed. 

In former times, when the House assembled in the smaller Chamber, 
its debates exercised an influence which they have not enjoyed since 
it moved into the present Hall, and, as I have said, it is not because 
the people are in the habit of choosing men of inferior ability to its 
membership. 

Neither Mr. Bryce nor Mr. Wilson has overdrawn the picture in what 
I have cited from them. Except upon rare occasions, and when the 
speaker has a powerful or penetrating voice, one can hear little or 
nothing of what is going on. 

A Member is not able ordinarily to hear unless he has a seat near 
the one who is speaking. There are not a half dozen Members of 
the House able to make themselves heard throughout the Hall when 
speaking in a conversational tone, which is the only tone really 
suited to deliberation. Members are compelled to assume the grand, 
oratorical style, and to shout and declaim. The committee believe 
that the adoption of some such plan as that proposed in scheme B 
is necessary to the highest efficiency of the House of Representatives 
as a legislative body, and they therefore urge the passage of the 
accompanying resolution. 



[House Doi-uiAent No. 1428. Sixtieth Congress, second session.] 

Office Superintendent, 
l". S. < Capitol Building and Grounds, 

Washington, D. C, December 7, 1908. 

Sir: On the 12th day of May, 11>08, the chairman of the Committee on the Library 
submitted to the House the following resolution, which was passed: 

"Resolved, That the Superintendent of the Capitol Building and Grounds be author- 
ized and directed, under the supervision of the Speaker, to consult with architects of 
repute and expert upon ventilation and acoustics with a view to a rearrangement 
and reconstruction of the Hall of the House of Representatives, and to place it in 
direct contact with the outer wall or walls of the building, and to improve its ventila- 
tion and acoustical properties, and to reduce its size, and to report with plans to the 
Speaker on the first Monday of December, nineteen hundred and eight. The expenses 
hereunder, not to exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, shall be paid out of the 
contingent fund of the House." 

In accordance with the above resolution I beu to submit herewith the report 
requested. This report is accompanied by drawings, schedules, and other data, and 
I beg to state further that, during the consideration of this matter, 1 have consulted 
with Messrs. Garrere & Hastings, of New York, the consulting architects of the House 
and Senate Office Buildings. 

The three schemes submitted herewith have been marked, for purposes of identifi- 
cation, as "A," "B," and "C."° They exhibit two types of auditorium, either of 
which may be adopted. 

Scheme A illustrates a semicircular (hemicycle) hall, similar to Statuary Hall in 
the Capitol building. 



" Schemes not printed . 



f) HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Scheme B illustrates a rectangular hall, similar in form to the existing Hall of the 
Bouse but of smaller dimensions. In this scheme the long dimension of the hall is 
east and west, as in the existing Hall. 

Scheme i ' also illustrates a rectangular hall, but turned around so its long dimension 
is mirth and south, or at righl angles with the long dimension of the existing Hall. 

These three schemes diner in form and architectural treatment, but they all agree 
on the following points: 

A uniform Beating arrangement ; a reduction in the size of the Hall, and the moving 
of the Hall bodily to the south so as to eliminate the corridor back of the Speaker's desk 
in the existing Hall, in that way bringing the south wall of the new hall as close to 
the outer wall of the House wing as the limitation- of the existing structural and 
supporting walls will admit. 

To facilitate comparisons, there i.- also presented, as part of hi report, a schedule 
containing the dimensions, area-, seating, etc., of the existing Ball of the Boue 
compared with each of the three schemes presented for its reconstruction. 

To further facilitate a comparison of the drawings it may be stated thai all have been 
made lo the uniform scale of 10 feet lo 1 inch. 

During the preparation of the drawings a careful examination was made of a num- 
ber of document- relating to European legislative halls. These documents, consisting 
of plans, photographs, etc. were obtained for reference in connection with the study 
of this subject by the chairman of the Committee on the Library, Hon. S. W. Met 'all. 

The following legislative halls are illustrated in the documents collected by Mr. 
.Met all: 

England. The Bouse of Peers, in London; the House of Commons, in London. 

France. The Chamber of Deputies, in Paris. 

Germany. The Reichstag building, in Berlin; the' two Prussian legislative houses, in 
Berlin. 

Belgium. The Senate Chamber, in Brussels; the chamber of Representatives, in 
Brussels. 

Austria. The two Legislative halls of the Austrian Parliament, in Vienna. 

Italy.- The two Legislative halls of the Italian Parliament, in Pome. 

Spain. — The Chamber of Deputies, in Madrid. 

Holland. — The First chamber of the States-General, at the Bague; the Second 
Chamber of the States-* ieneral, at the Ha. 

Portugal. The Chamber of Peers, at Lisbon. 

Switzerland. The Hall of the National Council, in Heme. 

Greece. — The Meeting Hall of the Parliament of the Hellene-. 

All of the studies made for contemplated changes in the present Hall of the House 
during previous years concerned themselves entirely with the House floor, and 
apparently did not take into consideration structural questious involved below the 
floor of the present Hall, the necessity for new foundations, or the probability of any 
scheme being adopted which would require the reconstruction of the roof over the 
Hall. 

In preparing the present studies, due consideration has been given to all these 
questions. 

It can be definitely stated that no successful scheme for remodeling the Hall of the 
House can be devised which will avoid the necessity of providing new foundations 
for at least a portion of the new inclosing walls of the Hall. This will necessarily 
result in a partial, or total, reconstruction of the interior of the House wing within the 
limits of the walls surrounding the galleries of the present Hall. 

The roof trusses that now span the Hall of the House date from L854, and it is doubt- 
ful if any Bcheme of reconstructing the Hall could be executed without necessitating 
new trusses. In order to expeditiously prosecute the work it would probably be 
necessary to remove the roof. The existing trusses are of such character and material 
that if they were removed it would very probably be impossible lo successfully 
reerect them, and it may therefore be stated that any of the schemes for the recon- 
struction of the Hall will necessitate a new roof over the center portion of the House 
wing. 

The subjects of ventilation and acoustics and their relation to the proposed change 
in the Hall of the House may be safely left to present day engineering skill and sci- 
entific knowledge, which, I believe, will be fully able to cope successfully with the 
problem- presented. 

In the majority of the European legislative halls referred to abme the -eat- are 
arranged in concentric rows as in the existing Hall of the House. In form these 
European Legislative halls are about equally divided between the hemicycle type 
and the rectangular I 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OE REPRESENTATIVES. i 

The arrangement of seats in concentric rows being so obviously well adapted to the 
purpose, it has been considered unnecessary to attempt any departure from this plan. 
The only conspicuous exceptions to the concentric plan of pea ting among the European 
halls referred to are the British Houses of Parliament. The seating in these halls 
consists of rows of straight benches placed around, and parallel to, the inclosing walls 
of the rectangular rooms. This scheme offers no advantages that would recommend it 
for the new Hall of the House, and therefore, as intimated above, no plan is presented 
embodying it. 

In determining the area of the proposed new Hall of the House the seating capacity 
was taken at between 400 and 450 individual seats. 

As to the seats themselves, they have been arranged in rows spaced 39 inches from 
back to back, with a width of 24 inches for each seal . This allows 64 square feet of 
actual floor space to each Member, exclusive of aisles, Speaker's desk, etc. The 
spacing given will permit of a writing space in front of each seat in the form of a con- 
tinuous ledge secured to the backs of the rows of seats. There is presented herewith 
a study intended to exhibit the general arrangement of the rows of individual seats, 
with arms, and the continuous writing ledge. 

Attention is particularly called to the fact, as shown by this study, that the proposed 
seating of the new Hall of the House does not contemplate a system of benches, but 
consists of a system of individual chairs, coupled together. 

The rows of seats in the existing Hall of the House are spaced 60 inches from back to 
back, with a width of 26 inches. This allows about 10^ square feet of actual floor space 
to each Member. 

The following tabulation will show that while the seating in the proposed new Hall 
of the House allots less actual floor space to each Member than in the existing Hall, 
it is, nevertheless, a considerably greater allowance per seat than is considered ample 
in the most commodious auditoriums: 



Auditorium. 



The existing Hall of the Bouse of Representatives. 

The proposed new Hal] of the House of Representative: 

The New Theater in New York City 

The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City 

The Manhattan < >pera Iloi.se m New York City. 




The above data on the seating in the New Theater, the Metropolitan Opera House, 
and the Manhattan Opera House was obtained through the courtesy of Messrs. Carrere 
& Hastings, the architects of the New Theater. They state that as a result of the 
study they made of the seating question in the New Theater they are of the opinion 
that a width of 24 inches would be a generous allowance for the seats in the new Hall 
of the House. 

Reducing the spacing of the rows of seats in the proposed new Hall will result, of 
course, in bringing the membership of the House closer together. This result will be 
obtained, however, without any sacrifice in the necessary working space now allotted 
to each Member and without interfering with his personal convenience. 

The principal gain in space is obtained by the substitution of the continuous writing 
ledge for the de.^ks in the existing Hall. In addition, the proposed scheme of seats 
provides one arm between each two adjoining seats instead of two separate arms 
with a gap between. Thus it will be seen that while a very considerable gain in space 
is obtained, permitting of a material reduction in the area of the Hall, it is done without 
in any way lessening the actual size or convenience of the existing seats. 

The following is a detailed description of each of the three schemes presented here- 
with : &i 



Scheme A. 



. 



This scheme, as stated above, embodies the hemicyele form of auditorium. The 
curved inclosing walls are concentric with rows of seats. All points on the perim- 
eter of the inclosing walls are equidistant from the Speaker's desk. This fact alone 
marks the hemicyele form as the ideal one for the use of a deliberative body. 

The dimensions of scheme A, on the floor, are virtually identical with Statuary Hall 
in the Capitol Building, the depth of the galleries, however, being greater. 

In this scheme, as in the others, the new Hall is moved south so as to eliminate the 
corridor that is back of the Speaker's desk in the existing Hall. The new Hall would 



8 ISL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE. 

then open directly on the Members' lobby facing the south portico of the House wing 
The lower part of th ewall between the new Hall and the Members' Lobby on the south 
would remain, except for the cutting of any new openings that may be required. 
Through these could be seen the windows opening on the south portico of the House 
wing. Any glare of light from these windows could be regulated by means of curtains, 
and in warm weather the windows could be opened, admitting the outside air directly 
into the Hall. 

The upper portion of the division wall referred to would be removed and back of this 
open space would be placed the Press Gallery, over the Members' Lobby. The 
accompanying section of the new Hall marked "looking south" shows the effect which 
will be gained by removing the upper portion of the present wall between the Mem- 
bers' Lobby on the south and the corridor that now exists back of the Speaker's desk. 
The windows that show on this section will be at the back of the new Press Gallery over 
the Members' Lobby and are the actual upper windows that now open on the south 
portico of the House \\ ing. This removal of the upper portion of the division wall, 
referred to. will serve to further accomplish the expressed objecl of opening the new 
Hall to the exterior light and air. 

The moving of the Mall to the south and the use of the hemicycle form would pro- 
vide a yen Large semicircular lobby hack of, and inclosing, the Hall. While the 
extent of this lobby is shown on the accompanying drawings of scheme A it has not 
been subdivided into cloakrooms, retiring rooms, etc. Anj desired subdivision of 
this Lobbj space can be readily pro\ ided for. 

The public gallery is directly over the Members' Lobby last referred to and is also 
inclosed by a circular wall. 

The plan of the gallery as shown leaves two large triangular spaces, one in the north- 
east corner and the other in the northwest corner, back of the gallery inclosing wall. 
It is designed to utilize these large spaces as Light courts, with skylights overhead. 
This will permit of the introduction of daylight in the corresponding corners of the 
Members' Lobby below. Because of the Large dimensions of these spaces the volume 
of light will be very considerable. This tight can be introduced into the circular 
Members' Lobby by increasing the door openings shown between it and the triangular 
spaces. 

This plan provides a very largely increased cloakroom and lobbj space over the 
existing accommodations. In addition, the lobby will separate the Hall from the 
public corridor and will serve the same purpose as the lobby on the north of the Senate 
Chamber, between the latter and the Marble Room. The lobby will also serve as a 
sort of vestibule at the north entrance ami will relieve the congestion thai now fre- 
quently occurs at this point. 

Comparative data. 



The exist- 
ing Hall. 



Scheme A. 



I1:U 


90 


67) 


66 


139 


145 




112 


7,660 


5.028 


386,370 








3,441 


1 


vi.wr, 


15,511 



Greatest length on the door Feet. . 

GreaU'si breadth on the floor do 

do — 

(i i at gallery level do — 

on the floor sq. fl 

Cubic contents. Including gallery cu. ft. . 

Number ol id 

'in' ii pace, not including present lobby on south front sq. ft . 

Area at gallery level do 

The al ds the following results for Bcheme A. as compared with the existing 

Hall: 

Ibi but ion ii. area on the floor of the Mall sq. ft 2, 632 

Reduction in area on (he gallery Level do. . . . 416 

Reduction in total cubic contents of the Mall cu. ft. . 87. 970 

Increase in seating ">7 

Increase in clo pace sq. ft. . 3,921 

The cosl oi exe< uting scheme A is estimated al $500,0Q0. 

HEME lb 

This Bche ill he rectangular form of auditorium. The proportions of the 

Mall are similar to the existing Mall, but the room is of considerably smaller dimensions. 
The Long dimension of (he Mall i-^ placed easl and west, the same as in the existing 
Mall. 



HALL, OF THE HOUSE OE KEPEESENTATIVES. 



9 



This scheme moves the Hall to the south, by eliminating the corridor back of the 
Speaker's desk, in the same manner as proposed in scheme A, and it also increases 
the cloakroom space. 

In this scheme, as in scheme A, the two tiers of windows that open on the south 
portico of the House wing will be visible from the interior of the new Hall. 

The accompanying drawings show that the rectangular form of auditorium is not so 
well adapted to the concentric arrangement of seats as the hemicycle form. 

Aside from the above criticism, scheme B would admit of perfectly successful archi- 
tectural treatment and would cost somewhat less to execute than scheme A. 

Comparative data. 



Greatesl I mgtti on the floor - 

Greatest breadth on the floor 

Length at gallery level 

Breadth at gallery level 

Area on 1he floor sq. ft. 

Area at gallery level do. . . 

Cubic contents, including sjallery cu. ft. 

Number of Members' seats 

Total cloakroom space, qo1 including present lobby on south front sq. ft. 



The exist- 
ing Hall. 



im 

67i 

l.:9 

93 

7,6£0 

12,927 

386, c70 

S93 

3. 441 



87 

64 

US 

115 

5, 440 

9,616 

259,745 

446 

7,170 



The above yields the following results for scheme B, as compared with the existing 
Hall: 

Reduction in area on the floor sq. ft. . 2, 220 

Reduction in area at the gallery level do 3,311 

Reduction in cubic contents of Hall cu. ft. . 126, 625 

Increase in seating 53 

Increase in cloakroom space sq. ft . . 3, 729 

The cost of executing scheme B is estimated at $375,000. 

Scheme C. 

Scheme C illustrates a rectangular Hall, but differs from scheme B in that its long 
dimension is north and south, while in the other the long dimension is east and west. 
In other words, scheme C would turn the Hall of the House at right angles to the exist- 
ing Hall. 

The one advantage this scheme seems to offer is that the east wall of the new Hall 
would be directly over an existing wall in the story below, which latter could be used 
as a foundation should it be found that it would safely carry the additional weight 
which would be imposed upon it by the new construction. 

In this scheme, as in schemes A and B, the two tiers of windows that open on the 
south portico of the House wing will be visible from the interior of the new Hall. 

Scheme C has several serious objections, practically as well as architecturally. 

It will be noticed that in this scheme the Hall is entered on the north immediately 
from the public corridor without even the small vestibule that now exists being inter- 
posed between the two. Further, this entrance is in the center of a short side of the 
room; it is not opposite the Speaker's desk and is, therefore, in a subordinate location. 
In actual use there would probably result much annoyance to the Members occupy- 
ing the seats close to this entrance not only from drafts, but from the disturbing sounds 
that would enter the Hall from the public corridor each time the door was opened. 

With the Speaker's desk on the east wall, as shown on scheme C, and a large Mem- 
bers' lobby immediately back of it, there would naturally be more or less "coming 
and going" on that side of the room, which would tend to cause confusion and con- 
gestion in the vicinity of the Chair. 

To overcome the objections due to the abrupt entrance into the Hall on the north, 
as shown on scheme (', a vestibule, as exists at present, might be introduced. This 
would necessitate the retention of the existing north wall of the floor of the Hall in 
order to conceal the vestibule. For the sake of symmetry it would then be necessary 
to retain the corresponding south wall. This would result in a floor area insufficient 
to meet the requirements as to seating. 

Architecturally, scheme (' i< faulty. It turns the Hall around sidewise as regards 
the lines and general conformation of the House Wing and would not have suggested 
iteelf as a solution were it not for the fact that certain walls now in place offered them- 
selves as possible supports. 

H. Rep. 2215, 60-2 2 



10 



HALL OF THE HOUSE OP REPRESENTATIVES. 



f At present the Speaker's desk is on the south in the center of one of the long sides 
of the Hall, with the main entrance directly opposite, and both are on the north and 
south axis of the entire Capitol building. The two corresponding locations in the 
Senate Chamber are in the same relation to each other. This is an arrangement that 
every consideration of usage and design requires should remain undisturbed. 
Scheme C, therefore, can not be recommended. 

Comparative data. 



Greatest length on the floor feet. . 

Greatest breadth on the floor do 

Length at the gallery level ao 

Breadth at the gallery level do 

Area on the floor sq. ft. . 

Area at the gallery level do 

Cubic contents, Including gallery cu. ft.. 

Nmnl>er of Members' seats 

Total cloakroom space, not including present lobby on south front sq. ft. . 



The 

existing 

Hall. 



113* 

07 J 

139 

93 

7,660 

12, 927 

386,370 

393 

3, 441 



Scheme O. 



94 

04 

112 

112 

0,016 

11,950 

305, £00 

448 

7,008 



The above yields the following results for scheme C, as compared with the exist- 
ing Hall: 

Reduction in area on the floor sq. ft. . 1, 644 

Reduction in area at the gallery level do 977 

Reduction in total cubic contents of Hall cu. ft. . SO, 870 

Increase in seating 55 

Increase in cloakroom space sq. ft. . 3, 627 

The cost of executing Bcheme I is estimated at $350,000. 

Recapitulation of the estimated costs of the proposed reconstruction of the Hall of the 
House of Representatives as shown on the accompanying schemes A, B, and C. 

Scheme A $500, 000 

Scheme B 375, 000 

Scheme C 350. 000 

Drawings accompanying this report. 

Scheme A, plans and sections; 

Scheme B, plans and sections; 

Scheme (', plans and sections; 

A schedule of the dimensions of each scheme as compared with the existing Hall 
of the House; 

A plat on which is shown the plan of the floor of each of the three schemes in its 
relation to the floor of the existing Hall, together with the existing supporting walls 
in the story below; 

A detail of the proposed scheme of sealing in the new Hall of the House. 



In conclusion, 1 beg to suggest that if it is determined to reconstruct the Hall of 
the House of Representatives, the scheme thai is finally executed should be that one 
which is agreed upon as the best, regardless of the r<<~]. 

I am unable to recommend the adoption of scheme C. The drawings illustrating 
this scheme are of interest as showing that the Bubject has been exhaustively studied 
and all possible arrangements for the new Hall considered. Scheme C, however, 
is not BO well adapted to the requirements of the House as the two Others, and. a- stated 
above, it embodies serious faults architecturally. 

The adoption of either scheme A or scheme I! would result successfully both from 
a practical and an architectural standpoint. It is the opinion, however, of all those 
who have examined into the subject that the hemicycle scheme, "A," offers the best 
possible result. 

Very respectfully, Elliott Woods, 

- perintendent U.S. Capitol Building and Grounds. 

The Sl'KAKKK OF THB HoUSK OK REPRESENTATIVES. 



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